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Broken Antique Teapot Bought For 15 Quid Sells For Half A Million

Broken Antique Teapot Bought For 15 Quid Sells For Half A Million

A John Bartlam teapot bought by an amateur collector for £15 has sold for £575,000 at auction

Ronan O'Shea

Ronan O'Shea

An amateur antique collector has found themselves in the money after a broken teapot they picked up for £15 ($21) sold for a staggering £575,000 ($802,000) at auction.

The hobbyist antiques dealer bought the pot on the cheap believing it was common pearlware pottery, but later had it assessed by expert Clare Durham from an auctioneers in Salisbury called Woolley and Wallis.

To teapot turned out to be the work of John Bartlam, a renowned 18th-century potter who went to South Carolina in America to try and exploit its huge market.

SWNS

Opening two factories in the southern state, he figured he could make good quality ceramics and save a fortune on transport costs.

His initial foray was a success but ended with the dawn of the American Revolution, which would ultimately see America become an independent country which went on to live happily ever after.

For many years, it's been believed Bartlam probably created the first examples of porcelain in America, a material which later became highly popular in plates and urinals around the country.

The discovery confirms that the adventurous potter was indeed the first producer of porcelain in America, which must have made him quite the catch in 18th-century bars and nightclubs.

SWNS

According to a press release from Woolley and Wallis: "It is only the seventh recorded piece of Bartlam porcelain to come to market, the second recorded at auction and the only known Bartlam teapot, making it the first recorded American teapot to have been discovered."

The collector who bought the teapot was originally told it might be valued anywhere between £20,000 and £50,000 but initial interest grew and grew until it eventually sold under the hammer for £460,000 ($642,000), or the cost of two Lamborghinis.

SWNS

I don't know if two Lamborghinis cost more or less than £460,000, but then I don't know anything I about pottery either.

What I do know is that £460,000 is a lot more than £15 (considerably) and that the final price (with fees) of £575,000 is even more than that.

Which means, all in all, it has been an incredibly good period of time for the eagle-eyed (and jammy) amateur antiques dealer, whose find is set to be displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York, which is in America, where the teapot is from.

Homecoming party!!

Featured Image Credit: SWNS

Topics: Money, US News, USA